Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1887-08-31

"AsS0 sG0 E0OO0UI8Uk0 U0E800uLy VINO appear
cd for the plaintiff, relied was this note. I'm
der the innocent esculent and the juicy NUT.
ton were concealed no end Of declarations Of
love and promises OF marriages. "Gentlemen
OF the jury" shouted the sergeant, "shall the
snectAons Of this worthy and conflding female
be tempered with by this dastardly villain
under cover of the delusive phrase: ."Chops
aad tomato sauce2 Good heavens, gentle
men, etc." Ever since the publication of the
Pickwick papers this opfsodo has been used
to typify the effort to magnify insignificant
tribes into matters Of mighty import. Hon.
Thomas Wilson In his letter in which he runs
amuck at the governor, the attorney gen.
eral, and do not knew how many other gen.
tlemen, processes to have discovered mares
nest in the bill for exempting from back tax
es the lands OF the st. Panl & Chicago rail-
road. He says the bill contains the following
title: "A bill to relieve settlers and others
from back taxes" and claims that the words
land others" which appear In the title of the
enrolled bill, ans ia the ~ % printed in the.
session laws, did not appear there while tho
bill was passing through the house, and we're
FRAUDULENTLY INSERTED
the object being to conceal the
real purpose Of the bill from the members
who would not otherwise have voted for 1t. I
have examined the original bill in the office
of the secretary Of state In connection with
the journals Of both the senate and the house
and find that the body of the bill is in type
writing while the title is written, the words
The sheet on which the act Is written was
atoG no. ~ a l@~
pers, and not being evenly pasted 1t left the
backing sheet extending little beyond the
sheet on which the bill was written. In writ
ing the title the writer apparently discover
ed after he had finished it that part of the
words land others we're not on the sheet on
which the bill was written, but he had acct
dentally written it over onto the backing
sheet thereupon, partially erasing the words
by drawing his pen through them, he appar-
emily inserted the words land others'' In the
margin OF the bill at the beginning OF the
next line. ALI this is in the same handwrit-
ing, the same ink and apparently done at the
same time. In the title on the back the words
land others" appear, and the stroke by
which the in ''others'' Is crossed, running
across portion of the word ''snd,'' Judge
Wilson processes to think it an erasure. This
Is all there Is Of this monstrous piece Of knav-
cry which appears on the face Of the bill.
"But," says the Judge, 1.-THE journals show
that the words and others were not there
when the bill was passing through the legis-
lature." have examined them. The clerks
reply In keeping record of proceedings of
any bill upon its number rather than UPON it's
title, and rarely essay to be accurate In stat
ing
THE TITLE.
Their aim is to get the gist of it. Thus on
page $50 of the house journal, which con-
tain the record Of the third reading and final
passage OF the BILL it Is described as House
File No. l57, "A bill for an act for payment Of
certain back taxes" On page $50 of house
file, where the Dill was reported back from
the committee. 1t is described as House File
No. l56, "a bill for an act relating to the St.
Paul & Chicago Railway company and reliev-
ing settlers from the payment of certain back
taxes" And in the senate journal it IS in
one instance described as House File No. Isl,
"A bill to relieve settlers from judgment for
certain back taxes" More often where a
large number of bills are passed at the same
time they are described by number without
any reference to their title, and this is all the
evidence ON which Judge Wilson permits
himself to charge honorable men holding Of
fetal positions with fraud aud dishonesty.
Now that there could have been no such mo-
tive for q misleading title is, think, evident
from the facts: Many years ago the st. Paul
& Chicago Railway company mortgaged it's
swamp land grant, which, l think. never was
worth more than 100000, to secure nominal
Indebtedness of 80, 100000. After all the most
valuable of these lands had been sold by the
company the supreme court in test case
made up Immediately on the claim being
made by Judge Wilson in the legislature, or
as soon thereafter as it could conveniently
be done, and pressed to decision as rapidly
as the business of the courts would permit,
with no attempt to delay the proceedings, by
either the attorney general or the railroad
company, decided the lands taxable.
REVERSING THE DECISION
of the district court of Hennepin county,
which had held that they we're not. Although
surprised at the decision the company merely
desired to have its rights determined and
were perfectly willing to pay taxes thence
forth on the tracts remaining unsold, but the
state authorities felt compelled under the de
cision to put the lands on the tax roll for a
great number Of back years during which no.
body had thought the lands were taxable.
The amount of these taxes, as everybody
knew who knew anything about it, was much
more than the value of the lands unsold. Tho
company could not and would not redeem
them. The state would have to take them on
a tax title. The state officers thought there
should be some relief extended, but they had
no power to do so. Under these circumstance
es the legislature met and the company who
had retained me to conduct the litigation of
the tax case In courts, requested me to draw
a bill which would meet the case. accord
ingly drew a bill which entitled IAN Act
Relating to the st. Paul & Chicago Railway
Company" which SO far from concealing
what was desired commenced with pream-
BILE setting forth the facts, showing why back
taxes on all the lands of this grant. whether
belonging to the company or purchasers,
should he omitted from the tax list. The next
thing heard from it was notification from
the joint tax committee Of both houses, of
which think Judge Goodrich of the senate
was chairman. that they would hear me on
certain evening. Pursuant to that notice
appeared before the committee in the senate